PARIS, Sept. 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BIOPHYTIS (Euronext Growth Paris:ALBPS), a biotechnology company specializing in the development of drug candidates to treat age-related diseases, today announced an abstract entitled “Sarconeos demonstrates sharp functional improvement and anti-fibrotic properties in an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy” has been selected for presentation at the World Muscle Society international congress being held on 3-7 October 2017 in St Malo, France.

Stanislas Veillet, CEO of BIOPHYTIS, said: “The abstract highlights exciting data demonstrating Sarconeos’ potential ability to improve muscle function not only in sarcopenia but also in other neuro-muscular diseases, such as Duchenne. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a debilitating progressive disease with few treatment options for patients. Sarconeos’ oral delivery and safety profile could offer a promising treatment alone or combined with gene therapies when they become available. We are now designing the possible clinical roadmap for this new Orphan indication, which offers a clear regulatory pathand accelerated timelines to market.”

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked inherited muscular disease, characterized by progressive muscle weakness and cardiomyopathy, leading to premature death. Muscles undergo repeated cycles of necrosis/regeneration and are replaced by connective and adipose tissues. Glucocorticoids and supportive therapy are the current standard of care leaving many patients with an unmet medical need.

In the study, mdx mice were treated daily with either Sarconeos for 8 weeks. Mdx mice are a gold standard animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. At completion of the study, mice treated with Sarconeos showed statistically significant improvements in running distances (2.4-fold) when compared to untreated mdx mice. Additionally, the treated mice showed improvements in maximal muscle force of 15% when treated with Sarconeos. Gene expression markers in the heart for fibrosis (CTGF) and hypertrophy (my7, BMP4) were reduced in treated mice, and histopathological analysis revealed a clear decrease of muscle lesion profile, as well as a decrease in fibrosis in the treated mdx animals.

These results demonstrate the efficacy of Sarconeos in the improvement of dystrophic muscle functionality and in the prevention of fibrosis appearance and potentially open a new therapeutic option for patients with DMD.

About SARCONEOS: Sarconeos is a first-in-class drug candidate based on the activation of the MAS receptor (major player of the renin-angiotensin system) restoring muscular anabolism, inhibiting myostatin, and that had demonstrated meaningful activity in animal models of muscular dystrophies. Sarconeos is developed in the treatment of sarcopenia, an age-related degeneration of skeletal muscle, leading to loss of mobility in elderly people. This condition, for which no medical treatment currently exists, was first described in 1993 and has entered the International Classification of Diseases (M62.84) in 2016. It affects more than 50 million people worldwide.

About BIOPHYTIS: Biophytis SA (www.biophytis.com), founded in 2006, develops drug candidates targeting diseases of aging. Using its technology and know-how, Biophytis has begun clinical development of innovative therapeutics to restore the muscular and visual functions in diseases with significant unmet medical needs. Specifically, the company is advancing two lead products into mid-stage clinical testing this year: Sarconeos (BIO101) to treat sarcopenic obesity and Macuneos (BIO201) to treat dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The business model of BIOPHYTIS is to ensure the conduct of the project until clinical activity in the patient is proven, then to license the technologies in order to continue the development in partnership with a pharmaceutical laboratory. The company was founded in partnership with researchers at the UPMC (Pierre and Marie Curie University) and also collaborates with scientists at the Institute of Myology, and the Vision Institute.

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